


Doctor/Patient Confidentiality

by fabulously_frenzied



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Mild Language, Nino Lahiffe Knows, niknows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:21:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23436865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fabulously_frenzied/pseuds/fabulously_frenzied
Summary: In which our boy Nino is a quiet observer and too compassionate for his own sanity. At least he can help others maintain theirs.(a.k.a. the Ultimate NiKnows Fic)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Lonely Heart of Creation](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22111624) by [TransientPokemonMaster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TransientPokemonMaster/pseuds/TransientPokemonMaster). 



> hooooo BOY I've been excited about this one. It's been about a month in the making at this point, and I would have loved to have put it up sooner, but recent events and fleeting inspiration have hindered the process. As you will clearly see, a _lot_ went into this.
> 
> Inspired by TransientPokemonMaster's _The Lonely Heart of Creation_ (which should be linked above and is a _fantastic_ read), more specifically some scenes toward the middle of chapter 8. I made some comment on the chapter about Nino's role at that point in the story, and someone's reply is what propelled me to actually write this. Like they say, if you want to read it, write it.
> 
> Additionally, our boy Nino deserves more love. Fortunately, I am a giver. ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino knew from the very beginning.

Nino first saw Chat Noir before he first saw Ladybug, and he recalls that when he did, his initial response was:

“Huh, _Gabriel_ must be trying a new promo.”

(It wasn’t until later he realized that _in the middle of the first ever akuma attack_ would be a pretty strange time to promote your newest line of fashion, but no one can argue that people _weren’t_ talking about Chat Noir after the whole thing was over.)

He recognized the kid from the billboards plastered all over Paris, and he’s certainly seen stranger advertisements than everyone’s favorite teenage model hopping all over the city skyline in a leather suit. Kid must be _jacked,_ he thought; those were some serious stunts he was pulling.

The next day, when a new student with an awfully familiar mop of blond hair showed up to class, Nino thought he was being pranked.

And evidently, the kid was friends with Chloé Bourgeois? _What?_

“She’s, like, my only friend,” the kid—Adrien—had answered, and upon seeing an unmistakable shade of loneliness in his eyes (the same loneliness he’d seen in his mother’s eyes, after his father left and before she met her fiancée), all of Nino’s misgivings vanished.

He stuck out his hand in response. “I’m Nino, and it’s time for you to make some new friends, dude.”

  


He hadn’t paid much attention to the other member of Paris’s new superhero team until he heard the new girl in class—Alya: he remembers catching the name during roll call, even while everyone else laughed at Adrien’s overreaction. She was pretty, and somehow already best friends with Marinette, and, oh, what he wouldn’t give to sit with his longtime friend—announce she’d made a website dedicated to the heroes. “The Ladyblog,” she’d called it. He’d suppressed a snort. Puns were, in his general opinion, dumb, but it was endearing, he supposed. Curious, he pulled out his phone to check out the site, and was immediately greeted with a giant picture of Marinette Dupain-Cheng herself wearing a red and black spandex suit that left little to his imagination. 

He looked over in her direction, and found she was doing her best to look anywhere but at Alya’s phone. Taking in the chatter around him, he heard plenty of talk about Ladybug, the girl who’d saved the day from that humongous rock monster (here, he tuned into some ill-timed and insensitive teasing from Kim— _really,_ Kim? don’t mess with the bull) and quite a few questions as to who she might have been, but nothing about how she was _literally in their class._

He’d read his fair share of comic books, though, and Marinette seemed rather put off by the whole thing, so he tried to send her the most meaningful, grateful glance he could, and kept his mouth shut.

  


* * *

  


Nino didn’t like crying. He wasn’t ashamed of it, not in the slightest; in fact, he loved his parents more for teaching him that even though crying can’t fix your problems, it’s a healthy release of pressure and emotion. No, he just didn’t like the grossness of tears and snot on his face, or the headache it often gave him afterward—the more and more he watched Chat Noir throw himself in harm’s way, the better he got at hydrating himself. Though watching his best friend die over and over wasn’t exactly the way he wanted to maintain healthy habits.

And then Animan happened, and if not for Alya, Nino would have probably never come out of his room ever again. Adrien sacrificing himself was hard enough, but he will admit he _screamed_ when he saw how Ladybug ended the fight. Getting thrown into an empty gorilla habitat with the girl his actual crush thought he was crushing on was nothing short of awkward, and it had been clear Alya did _not_ want him getting the wrong idea. When they cleared the air, though, Nino learned he’d never have a chance with Marinette. He knew both sides of her and of Adrien, and he couldn’t deny the two really were made for each other. Even so, he had a harder time getting over his crush when Alya pulled up a livestream a Ladyblog follower was recording of the fight to find Ladybug _jump into the open mouth of a T-Rex._

All things considered, even if it hadn’t led to him getting to know how wonderful Alya is, he’s glad she was there. It was the first panic attack Nino ever had, and he’s not sure he would have actually recovered without her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever the voice of reason.

Nino knew he didn’t like Lila the second she opened her mouth.

He’d been eating a nice, quiet lunch with his girlfriend (which was rare when one dated Alya) when he heard a gasp from behind them.

“Oh. My. God! You’re Alya Césaire!” the voice exclaimed. Nino and Alya turned around to see a girl they didn’t recognize, dressed in a garish shade of orange and sporting the most unflattering hairstyle Nino had ever seen. (He’ll never admit it, but he used to have dreadlocks. The only people who know are Marinette and Kim because of their inseparable childhoods, and it would stay that way. Kim had been disappointed when he’d shaved his head; Marinette had just rolled her eyes, sighed, and said, “finally!”) She held her hands to her face, eyes as wide as she could make them without trying to pop them out of her head, and leg bent in in what Nino supposed was meant to be a “cute” little pose of astonishment. “I never thought I’d meet you, the _Ladyblogger,_ in real life! This is, like, a dream come true for me, you have _no_ idea.”

“That’s me!” Alya confirmed, beaming with pride at the recognition. “What can I do for ya?”

The girl jumped, a blush spreading across her cheeks far too slowly. “Uh, well, I was hoping I could talk to you.” Nino raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t seem to notice. “I have some information you might want to hear,” the girl replied, looking anywhere but Nino and his girlfriend.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Alya whipped out her phone immediately and opened her notes.

“So, um, I guess I should start by telling you my name. I’m Lila Rossi. I just transferred here from Italy—my mom’s an ambassador—and as we were leaving the airport, we were attacked by an akuma!” Nino noticed her accent for the first time over the sickly sweetness dripping from her voice.

“Wait, an akuma? When was that?” Nino asked. He was positive he was the Ladyblog’s #1 follower, checking in constantly to make sure his friends were okay after all their fights. “I don’t remember hearing about an akuma any time recently.”

The girl—Lila—faltered, clearly having not anticipated this question. “Oh. Uh—that’s because it was a really quick fight! Ladybug must have already been nearby because she was on the scene _immediately._ Chat Noir didn’t even show up! The akuma was about to crush me, but she swung in and pulled me out of the way just in time!”

“That sounds like our girl, alright,” Alya nodded.

“Anyway, she asked me if I was okay once she set me down and defeated the akuma. I was so _starstruck_ I didn’t even know what to say at first! But we started talking and we really hit it off, and, well… oh, maybe I really shouldn’t have said anything.”

Huh. That was a quick turnaround.

“Oh, come on, girl! You can tell me anything, I promise! Reporter’s honor,” Alya pleaded, holding up a hand like she was swearing an oath.

“If you say so,” Lila responded. “But you can’t tell anyone!” Her eyes quickly darted around the area, but to Nino, it didn’t seem like she was actually looking for anyone or anything.

“Just spill! Ugh, you can’t put me in suspense like this! I gotta know!”

“I’m Ladybug’s best friend now!” the girl blurted, and, a second too late, slapped her hands over her mouth.

_“What?_ Girl! No way!”

“It’s true! We’re like this,” Lila said, crossing her fingers.

Nino paused, processing. He may not have had the best memory but he wracked his brain, and… mmmm, _nope._ He didn’t recognize this girl _at all,_ and having grown up with Ladybug herself, he knew from experience that the girl didn’t tend to trust all that easily, having suffered from Chloé’s attempts to make her life a living nightmare. She was kind and generous as hell, and would always put others before herself, but there was no _way_ Nino could picture her getting all chummy with a random civilian she’d met during a fight. It didn’t seem possible.

“Holy crap, Lila! You have _got_ to do an interview with me!” Alya said rather than asked, taking the other girl by the shoulders.

Lila gasped again. “The _Ladyblogger_ wants to interview _me?_ Of course! _Mio dio!_ This is the best day of my life!” she exclaimed, apparently having forgotten her desire to keep this whole thing a secret.

Alya handed the girl her phone. “Here, give me your number. I’ll call you to set up an interview time later!” Lila practically snatched the phone from her, frantically tapping out her contact.

“I can’t wait! Oh, this is awesome! Thanks so much, Alya! I knew I could trust you,” she smiled, wider than her lips would allow. She waved a quick goodbye and trounced off. Alya turned to him.

“Can you believe it, Nino? An interview with Ladybug’s best friend!”

“Actually, no, I can’t,” he responded. At her confusion, he continued, “And I don’t. I mean, what reason do we have to believe her?”

“Nino!” his girlfriend admonished, but he could see the wheels turning in her head.

“Look, we don’t _know_ that girl. She just… _walked up_ and told you she was Ladybug’s friend. But we _do_ know that Ladybug tends to disappear right after fights are over and seems to want to keep her personal life... well, personal. That doesn’t line up at all with what that girl just told you.” Silence followed his words, and he waited for her to process.

“She didn’t even describe the akuma,” Alya finally said. “And she said it happened at the airport. Airports are _always_ busy; surely someone would have gotten a picture or a video of the fight. Follower submissions are always coming in on the blog, but I haven’t seen anything like what she described.”

“Yeah, I didn’t even think about that! There’s no way she’s telling the truth.”

“But why would someone lie about that?” Nino almost scoffed at the question, but refrained when he saw the earnestness on his girlfriend’s face.

“Because you were here? Because your site is the most popular source of information on the heroes? Because you’re a kid and easier to get to, and probably easier to fool, than a professional reporter?” She flinched at his last comment, but took it all the same.

“You’re right,” Alya said. “You’re right, of course. Thank God I have you to be my voice of reason.” She pulled him in to hug him and buried her face in his shoulder. “You’d think I’m… I don’t know, _Lois Lane_ or someone with how recklessly I chase this stuff. Man, if you hadn’t been here, I probably would have interviewed her right here and now and posted the video without even editing it.” She laughed dryly into him, and he held on tighter. “She’s probably just another fangirl trying to get famous off Ladybug’s name. I’m just lucky Ladybug herself doesn’t see _me_ that way.”

He didn’t have a reply for a while, so they sat there, embracing one another, in silence. “I’m here for you, Als,” was his eventual response, and she pulled him in even tighter.

“I’m glad,” she said. A moment later, she pulled away and looked at her phone.

“What’re you gonna do with the number?” he asked.

“Eh, I’ll hang onto it for now. If she transferred here, she might be going to school with us now. I’m just glad I didn’t give her _my_ number, otherwise she might never stop texting me!”

He chuckled. “Hypocrite,” he smirked, and she flicked the brim of his hat.

She laughed with him and rolled her eyes. “Let’s go, hon. Class starts soon.”

Class that afternoon didn’t actually happen, due to some new akuma dressed in a garish shade of orange and sporting the most unflattering hairstyle Nino had ever seen, made somehow worse with long fox ears.

_Happens to the best of us,_ he supposed, and pulled up the Ladyblog to see a new interview with Ladybug herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Adrien has yet to learn the art of subtlety, and Nino is in no mood to teach him.

Evidently, Glaciator had warranted him a visit from Chat Noir himself. Or, actually, Chat Noir’s civilian self. It’s an understatement to say the visit took him by surprise. He’d left his bedroom one night to get a glass of water, and when he returned, Adrien Agreste was sitting on his bed, hugging his chest tightly. He nearly spilled it.

_“Shit,_ dude,” he swore, checking himself over to see if he’d splashed water anywhere. “Don’t scare me like that! What are you doing here?” Never mind _how_ he’d gotten there; Nino wasn’t supposed to know about that. “Uh, dude? You there?”

Adrien didn’t say anything for a moment, then sighed. “Nino, do you think I should give up?”

“What?”

“I mean, she told me she doesn’t like me the same way. That she likes someone else. A-and I told her her friendship means everything to me, b-but I don’t—did I mean it? I mean, I’m so glad she’s my friend, but I told Pl—I told someone else that… that I _have_ to believe she’ll love me someday, s-so how—how can I-I say her friendship is that great a gift if I’m s-still holding my breath?”

That’s when it registered to Nino who Adrien was talking about, and he knew he had to let the cat out of the bag.

“Look, man, I…” he started, unsure how to approach his response. “I think that if Ladybug told you she doesn’t like you, then… you’ve just gotta accept that, man.

“You… you know?”

“Yeah,” he answered simply. Because it’s not like there was a huge reveal or anything, a shocking moment of revelation where all the pieces fell in place (not even Adrien randomly showing up in his room late at night through the open window). Nino just _knew;_ that’s really all there was to it.

“But we’re… we’re Ladybug and Chat Noir! Two halves of a whole! We were _meant_ to be, everyone knows it! I just don’t understand why she can’t—”

“Whoa, whoa, hang on, bro.” Nope. _Nope._ He was _not_ letting Adrien do this. It wasn’t fair to himself and it _certainly_ wasn’t fair to Marinette. “You are _not_ putting this on her.”

“What—”

“Look, how does it feel when Chloé launches herself at you every day? Gets all up in your personal space and doesn’t let you get a word in edgewise? Doesn’t even take the hint when you try to push her off of you without hurting her despite how frustrated you are?”

“Well…” Adrien sucked in a breath. “But—but that’s Chloé, though. That’s just Chloé.”

“Is it, Adrien?” It was becoming increasingly difficult for Nino to hide his frustration. That was an excuse and they both knew it. “You’ve claimed her, Adrien. You may not see it that way, but you’ve _claimed_ her. But that’s the problem, man: Ladybug is not an object or, like, a prize for you to win, and definitely not some _thing_ you think you’re entitled to just because of that ring you wear and the earrings she wears.”

“But I’m not—”

“Yes, you are, Adrien. I know you don’t want to hear it, man, but you’re harassing her.”

_“What?!”_ Adrien jumped back in shock only a little more than in offense. “No. No! I can’t be! That’s not how—”

“Bro, I don’t want to keep cutting you off like this, but I have to stop this line of thinking you have before it starts. You ever looked up ‘harassment’ in a dictionary? It means you continue to pester her even after she's asked you to stop. Your behavior makes her uncomfortable. _You're_ making her uncomfortable.” Somehow, Nino never broke his gaze. He’d never felt so righteous or convicted before, and something deep in his gut was stirring, urging him to speak up. Adrien may not have had the best social influences growing up (read as: basically none), but it still wasn’t an excuse for him to not take “no” for an answer. He didn’t want to see his friend become the kind of person he spent nearly every day fighting—someone who wouldn’t give up on a goal regardless of who it hurt in the process.

Adrien, for his part, looked down and didn’t say anything for a while, and Nino hoped that maybe something was registering to him until—“But she’s my partner!”

This time, Nino did not hold back the exasperation in his sigh. “Right. She’s your partner. _Not_ your girlfriend. You work with her, she works with you, that’s _all_ that means!”

“But why can’t—”

_“No,_ Adrien! Are you hearing yourself? First you won’t take ‘no’ for an answer from Ladybug, and now you won’t even hear it from _me?”_ He stood up, and Adrien shrank. (Hmm. They’d have to talk about that some other time.) “Look. I’m not trying to be mean. But I _need_ you to understand that what you’re doing is wrong, whether you’re a superhero or not. I know that you’ve been told ‘no’ almost your entire life, and I get that it puts you down, man. I get it, okay? And, okay, sometimes, it’s okay to fight back when someone, like your asshole father, says no.”

“He’s not—”

“That’s another conversation for later. Yeah. Sometimes it’s okay to fight back when someone says no. But _Ladybug is not that someone,_ nor is _any_ person who asks you to stop going out of your way to make them uncomfortable.”

“I’m not _‘going out of my way!’”_ Adrien protested, sitting forward again.

“Do you know how easy it would be for you to _not_ flirt during, oh, I don’t know, the middle of battle? When people’s lives are at stake, and you’re the only person who can help eliminate the danger? Or maybe after the battles, when your timers are running out, and you _physically pull_ Ladybug back so you can ask her out? Not to mention that touching her, grabbing her, pulling her like that without her consent is still more harassment.” 

He wanted to say more, but the urge in his gut had calmed down, and something in his brain told him to stop there. He stopped. He had so much more to say, so much frustration that this kid wasn’t getting this through that gorgeous, thick skull of his, but something in him knew that if he went on any longer, he’d lose it completely. At this point, he’d almost entirely forgotten that _Marinette_ is the one that Adrien’s harassing, and thank the stars and the heavens and _whatever_ gives Ladybug and Chat Noir their powers that he hadn’t said anything to compromise her identity. That was the _last_ thing he needed, giving Adrien just one more way to go after her. It didn’t matter now that he wanted them both happy, and that they were both in love with each other; if this was how Adrien was going to treat any potential relationship between himself and Marinette, Nino refused to let it happen. Both his friends mattered to him immensely, but they deserved better than _this,_ whatever _this_ was. A train wreck, perhaps. Not quite a shitshow, but if Adrien kept acting the way he was acting, it very soon could be.

He shivered. Marinette didn’t even _know_ that her crush was the one harassing her. That poor girl. Nino knew she was strong, the strongest girl he’d probably ever know, but he also knew even she had a breaking point. He didn’t want her to reach it, and he definitely didn’t want Adrien to be the one to push her there.

Adrien mumbled something, ripping Nino from the storm in his brain.

“Huh?”

“I said you’re right, okay?” He crossed his arms tightly and wouldn’t meet Nino’s eyes. “I say that I love her, and then turn around and ignore the way she feels. I say that I love her, but I won’t let her go when she tells me she has to leave. I say that I love her, and pay no attention to anything else happening around us.” He paused, looking down, trembling slightly. “I don’t really love her, do I?”

Nino was at a loss. What did he say to that?

Maybe he just… _didn’t,_ then.

“I can’t answer that question for you, man.” At Adrien’s defeated slump, he added, “It’s only something you can figure out for yourself. Maybe instead of chasing her, you could let her come to you on your own. That’s _not_ a guarantee!" he added quickly, before Adrien could get the wrong idea again. "But your positions mean you have to work _together._ She shouldn’t be working _around_ you to get the job done.”

HIs brain felt empty after that. That was all he had, evidently, but Adrien at least seemed to be finally taking it in.

“Yeah. Okay. Work together,” he repeated, standing up from the bed. “Work together. I can do that. Just that. Okay.” He stood still a moment, then looked at Nino. “Thank you, Nino. Really. I guess I have been kind of a jerk, haven’t I?”

Nino held up his hands. “Your words, not mine, bro. But I’m always here for you, even if you _are_ being a jerk, if it means helping you sort out your shit.”

“Yeah. Man, it’s nice to have someone I can talk to about this that _isn’t_ Plagg,” Adrien sighed.

“Plagg? What’s a Plagg?”

Of course, that’s the moment a black, cat-shaped blob flew out of Adrien’s jacket and parked, upside-down, right in front of Nino’s face. “Me! I’m a Plagg, that’s what.” Then, zipping right up next to Nino’s ear, so close that his whiskers(?) tickled his cheek, he whispered roughly, “Thanks for setting him straight, kid. I’ve been trying to get through to him for _weeks,_ and he’s never listened. And if anybody had to know about… _this_ … off the record, kid, I’m glad it was you. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders.” Before Nino could even process the thing’s—Plagg’s—words, he flew back abruptly and, rather dramatically, asked, “Got any _cheeeeeese?”_

“Ugh,” Adrien groaned. “Sorry, Nino. _Transformez-moi!_ ” Nino flinched as a burst of bright green light assaulted him, and when he could see again after his momentary blindness, Chat Noir stood in front of him.

“Seriously. Thank you,” he said, then shot him a two-finger salute before jumping nimbly through the still-open window.

Nino flumped back down in his desk chair and simply stared out the window, Chat Noir’s silhouette becoming smaller and smaller in the distance as he vaulted away.

_“Huh,”_ was all he could manage for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and, once again, I have reached the end of my draft, meaning everything else from here on out still needs to be written. fortunately, I have a plan in mind of where I'm going with this, but your feedback is what pushes me to keep going! thanks for reading :)

**Author's Note:**

> just as a warning, I haven't _completely_ finished writing this work. It's close, and I know exactly where I'm going with it (unlike a certain other multi-chapter fic I haven't touched in _months_ ), but it's not there just yet. It will be, and I will complete it and post as soon as I do, but I mention this to caution that I can't promise consistent uploads. Hopefully, putting out a chapter or two of this will motivate me to finish sooner than later, but that's also exactly what I said with _Stepping Up._ ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ We'll see.
> 
> hit me up on [tumblr](https://fabulously-frenzied.tumblr.com)!


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